Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When i saw this title was about to be released I didn't believe it at first... But anyway... I put it on my wish list, before you can say ?idiot?

Not because of the popularity of graphic novels but because I thought that a series of books like this "Complete Idiot's Guide" usually cares about, raising puppies, understanding software or mechanics stuff... You know... Things that might be more appealing to the real world... To the average reader

But to dedicate a whole guide just to the creators or fans of graphic novels... Ummm, I don?t know... Sounds weird... But immensely cool at the same time!!!

Anyway, I bought it, I have it, I read it, I LOVE IT!

As comic creator, writer and graphic novel lover THIS IS A MUST HAVE!... But specially for those writers and art students beginners or expert... Is full of tips and great ideas, all written in a simple down to earth words

As an expert you will find a different point of view, which I think is always helpful, as I never get tired of seeing other peoples works.. And as I believe there?s always something new to learn... In every book... Without exception

Specially coming for this guys, Nat Gertler and Steve Leiber... They not only explain but sparks your imagination with a wonderful sense of humor and tons of creative examples... You will find yourself not only laughing in every page but feeling those creative butterflies in your stomach, while you feel you are ?talking? with people that understand your ideas, love and passion for writing and creating a graphic novel

This is a book that goes directly to the subject... Directly to the thing you want the most... LEARN FROM THE PRO?S

So... I recommend this one with my eyes closed, not only if you are an idiot, but if you believe that there?s always something new to learn...

Get this one if you write graphic novel, if you love graphic novel, if you only read graphic novel, or if you only want to be... Less idiot... Like me

I'm a long-time designer looking to do a web comic on the side and I picked this book up only partly because I was open to some new organizational ideas, but mostly because the gentleman writing it were so down to earth.

Their teaching method is very engaging, the advice very helpful and easy to understand, but what I found most helpful was the "you can do it" reassuring undertone it had.

I'm also a longtime attendee of comicon and found their "demostration purpose" con comic exerpt amusing.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to express themselves through graphic novels. It's practical, filled with good advice and a ton of helpful references you might want to look up later as well.

Creating a graphic novel (or a comic book) is hard work. Getting someone to read it, other than friends or relatives, is an herculean task. This book is a good place to start, along with some fine books written by Scott McCloud.

I gave it only four stars because of the shallow treatment of so many themes, but that's natural, because of the wide spectrum of subjets that the comic form implies. And I sustracted a star because the writing style... well, tries too hard to be funny, and it gets annoying at times (insert a joke here!- Ed.)

Before writing a review, I glanced at some of the 2 and 3 star reviews, so I'm going to address those first:
1. This is an "Idiots" guide, so of course it pretty much covers the basics. If you're looking for advanced topics, you're obviously not the target audience.
2. Basically this is an overview of the process, with each topic covered in a chapter. It mentions references for advanced topics and other sources to get more information. If this book covered everything, it'd be about 5000 pages.

All that said, I've looked at several books on putting together comic books (much of the information here applies to comic books and there is some specific mentions to the non graphic novel step child in this book). This book covers the process the way it should be, from start to finish. Some books I looked at never even looked at the script at all, starting at the 5 elements of visual comic books, for example (Scott McCloud) or penciling and how to draw. This one starts from the beginning and goes through each step in order.

Overall, this is a great starter book. Other references are mentioned for advanced topics (books and websites). There's several references of where to get it printed (bulk or print on demand). They cover thumbnails, artist tools, lettering, etc. Read this first. Then once you have a grasp of the basics, get more specifics via Scott McCloud's book or the mariad of other resources mentioned in the book. For inking, I highly recommend the DC Comics Guide to Inking. The authors of this book mentions a lot of great resources for drawing (ex: Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain, etc). It's no surprise the drawing books mentioned in this book are relatively old as the art of drawing things pretty much haven't changed, even as technology has changed. Most are still in print, however, and they are great resources.

So, to conclude:
1. Get this book first. Read it from cover to cover. Make notes of the other references mentioned throughout the book: other books, websites, software (some which are free).
2. Read those other books second to get more specifics on the subject(s) you're interested in.

One small note: If you are planning on making a comic book instead of a graphic novel, get an ISSN instead of an ISBN. The same ISSN can be used for each issue of the comic and you can get them from free from the government (a bonus!).

Best luck in getting published!

Graphic novels seem to be quite the hot ticket. While most traditional English teachers would scoff at this genre as a serious direction for students, I find my at-risk pupils captivated by the entire process. Graphic novels help me keep their focus...I don't have them read too many, but I try to get them to write for me in graphic novel form. Some of them are unbelievably gifted, and I want them to see this as a viable avenue for themselves. I have a group of 4-5 who fight over this book regularly.

Before I continue I'm rather shocked that people find the authors egotistical. So much so I did a double take and made sure the book I read and the book reviewed have the same ISBNs.

But let me reassure you that unless you are super sensitive and able to find insult in everything but the most sugared and sweet of writings, that you will find that Gertler and Lieber are simply people like you and me with a bit more passion and hardened attitudes towards comic-making. The biography short is most likely the cause of readers' ire but this was written by Max Collins, NOT Gertler nor Lieber. Collins doesn't hesitate to list his achievements, but at the same time he feels it's wrong that graphic novels (AKA fat comic books) don't get the press. Perhaps he is using his achievements to demonstrate that comics are a good thing, but that aside he's him and the authors are themselves.

So try not to get this mixed up if you're going to write a scathing review.

Moving on....


~A Veritable Chicken Soup for the Novelists' Soul~
I am currently creating a comic (graphic novel for those who don't mind the term) and there are days where you don't want to talk to me. This book as well as Ellis' Everything guide to writing Graphic Novels is, let's be honest, emotional support and panacea to calm an otherwise stark raving mad lunatic.

Let it be known, that there is no better way to sooth your novelist migraine than to listen to someone who's been through hell and back. This book gives you a rough map of where you need to go and what you need to do along with an example path and how very very very long it'll take you to get there. They also show you work in progresses and techniques that they used to create them. And if you're somewhat far along, it will help give you a sense that you are on the right path when you are taking forever and slaving away on only one page. Not two. One.

However what they do NOT show you the step by step process in those ten, 30, 1000 hours you slave away. This must be a disappointment to many but honestly to write about creation in such depth will easily quadruple this book's size and length.


~Attitude~
This book doesn't go *too* far in this, but as a reviewer I feel compelled to say that this book absolutely adopts the correct attitude one should have when writing a graphic novel. For any artist or writer hoping to take on such a large project, what you need more than anything else is passion and confidence. Passion can never be under-stated as you will need it to mentally block out setbacks, thoughts of naysayers and other negative events in order to focus your energy on something positive (ie how fun it is to research tropical foliage in this scene). Confidence will then go hand in hand with passion to see you through to completion if these negatives actually happen and even affects your current success.

Adopting a confident attitude might seem "egotistical" to some at first glance but this is not so. The reason why people develop a self-centric air about their work is because they need to in order to remain devoted to their work. Successful graphic novelists don't start simply from a good story shmushing it together with good art and put it out on the market with a "hope for the best" attitude. They put forth an incredible amount of effort and time weaving both word and art together into as perfect a product as humanly possible, to only come face to face with potential (and overwhelming) rejection. To overcome these and other potentially soul shattering challenges without so much as a crumb of encouragement, they need to "think big" about their story and continue remaining inspired and motivated to tell it. Along with the time spent to pitch this to prospective audiences and publishers, novelists honestly don't have much time to wonder "if what Jim said was right and I should quit this while I'm still ahead". If you're going to get farther down the path of a graphic novelist you can't afford to hate your efforts, especially before you've even begun. While what naysayers say may hold water at times, what you should do first and foremost is remain dedicated to your story and never put it down.



~Inflated Egos vs Healthy Self Esteem~
While I personally feel self esteem is crucial, I agree that this has gotten carried away with some artists. For the growing bunch of superstars who feel that they *deserve* the press and views because of their hard work, they've forgotten you, the fan. Novelists who become egotistical cannot stand critique, cannot realize that their fans (not them) are the source of their income, and cannot and will not realize they are wrong.

If you're a fan, I urge you to be careful defending someone like this as it has been proven time and time again that fans are blind enough to follow their obsessions, even if that means off a cliff. A quick glance at recent news will prove this point.

In contrast, the two in this book are level-headed veterans who knows what works for them and what doesn't, while remaining open-minded enough to accept critique and differences. Also throughout the book, even when Steve one advises to do something one way, Nat may heartily disagree and offer an equally valid counterpoint.

In short they encourage growth, not stagnant "this is right that is wrong" manner of thinking while adopting a confidence not often seen in the art world. Having a healthy self esteem doesn't block out critique or differences of opinion but actually encourages it. It does, however, block out self defeating mores that come from the fear of getting a "big head". This is probably why people feel they're egotistical as they're not humble. But if you are set on being a successful novelist, humility shouldn't be your best and strongest trait. Remaining level-headed on the other hand, should be considered a valuable asset.


Lastly....

~Methods must be defined on your own~
While I think this is as perfect as a book can be on this subject matter, it is not perfect for every situation.

This book won't make or detail an example story for you but it will encourage you to continue. It is indeed impossible to write an instructional book that can span every genre, every story and every plot device feasible for someone's story. And there are bound to be differences in how you write or draw versus how they write or draw.

But if you are passionate enough to learn then this will prove to be an inspiration that will help you on those rainy days. The attitudes in here are solid even if the advice is not wholly agreeable. And I feel people who are getting into novel creation must be aware of what true egotism is compared to an appropriate level of self confidence.

Egotism won't save your novel from sliding into obsolescence. Confidence will.

After 20 years being out of touch with comics and now wanting to get back into it this book provided all I need to get started.

I bought this book along with others discussing how to create graphic novels.And out of all of them I found this the most useful. This book goes into detail about how to pick your genre, how to develope characters, how to write a plot and many other useful things. This is a great book and belongs in every comic book artist library.

While this is an easy and enjoyable read, it won't have much to offer anyone with more than a basic knowledge of the comic industry and design programs. Obviously this is due, in part, to the fact that you can't explore absolutely every aspect of creating a novel from beginning to end (without it being a 5,000 page book anyway). It offers definitions to keywords, like "protagonist", offers up some exercises in creating an interesting plot, like setting it in another time, and tells you how to use the "stroke" function in photoshop when creating your dialogue bubbles, but if this stuff doesn't sound new you probably won't find much in here. My advice? Read some great graphic novels instead and take notes.

Very well thought out and organized presentatation. It guides the artisist/novelist to-be effortlessly through every phase of graphic novel creation.
I truly enjoyed it and thought it was easy to understand even for those who are not familiar with comic book or printhouse jargon.
I highly recommend this guide as one of the best I have seen.